I killed my dad, mum, 3 siblings, son of slain SSS official confesses
From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
Thursday, September 16, 2010


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Photo: Sun News Publishing
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The mystery surrounding the brutal murder of the Sokoto-based official of the State Security Service and four members of his immediate family a few days ago has been resolved as the eldest son of the family, Bello Garba Bello on Wednesday in Kano confessed to slaughtering dad, mum and three siblings.

The members of his family who were murdered in the early hours of Monday include the father of the home, Garba Bello Hadejia, his wife, Habiba Bello Hadejia and his three children, Khalifa (17), Hafsat (19) and Murijatu (six).
Making his confession in the office of the State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Gana, at the Bompai headquarters of the command, the suspect said he decided to wipe out his family members after his discovery, on that night, that his father had died.

The suspect, who described the death of his father as unbearable, added that the loss of his father automatically transferred the burden of having to cater for the survival of the entire family on him.
Insisting that he alone, and no other person, murdered the victims, he disclosed that he took the two knives from the kitchen in their 173 Federal Government Housing Estate, Gandu, Zoo Road, Kano home to carry out the heinous crime.
The suspect was all along held at the Kano office of the State Security Service (SSS) in Ginginyi area of the state, but has been transferred to the Bompai headquarters of the police command where he spoke to the media. He looked downcast and was reluctant to speak and had to be led on by police detectives.

According to him, he could not remember whether his clothes were stained with blood, adding that all that he could remember was that he left the family compound after he committed the act. In the confession statement made by the suspect to the police on the matter, dated September 15, and sourced by the Daily Sun, Bello, 21, wrote that, “On the night of September 13, I was home with all the family members. (they) were asleep. I was woken up by my mother, Habiba Danjani. It was my turn to massage my father.”

He recalled that his mother had told him that that the father’s condition had worsened adding that both of them were initially putting their heads together, planning on how to take him to the hospital. Bello added that when they raised the dad up for them to take him to the hospital, he fell down, noting that at that point, his mother started crying that their father was dead.
According to him, it was at that point he rushed to the kitchen to get two knives which he used for the attack, starting with his brother, Khalifa, and then his sister, who was stabbed next.

He went on: “Then my mother, she ran to the room and phoned somebody (that) I attacked my father. … then my two sisters heard the scream and came out (and) I attacked them too. But I struggled with Hafsat. When I was about to stab myself, I heard Farouk crying in the toilet, …whatever took over my mind subsided at the time. I ran to the stairs calling for help.” After the act was done and his relatives killed, he then moved to Farouk and ordered him to tell no one what had transpired or that he was responsible for the killings.

In the statement, the suspect said he killed his parents due to fact that he was conscious of the economic hardship that was before him upon the death of their father and could not imagine a way out for the family. He pointed out that being a school dropout, there was no way he would be able to carry the burden of his family, hence he decided to kill all of them.

The first helper he called, according to him, was their former houseboy named Isaya, who he said pleaded that he couldn’t come out because his doors were jammed. Subsequently, he crossed over to the other gate where he called a neighbour named Garzali, adding that he told them there were people inside their compound who tried to kill all of them.
He said the neighbour and his family held him in their compound until past five in the morning when the bodies were discovered.

However, spokesmen of the bereaved family, Alhaji Umar Danjani Hadejia, disagreed with the findings of the police, especially as it claimed that it was the suspect alone that killed the members of his family. Hadejia insisted there was no way one person could kill all the five of them without an outside help. He said based on their findings, especially accounts from the only witness, Farouk Baba, the young boy recalled sighting somebody who was called Aminu, and who wore a white singlet and a short inside their house while the killings lasted.

He added that the neighbours also confirmed that they heard whistling outside the compound. The family therefore insisted that the police and SSS should carry out further investigation into the murder. The suspect’s own statement showed that he was born in Kano State on July 29, 1989 and went to Al- Ritra Nursery and Primary School. He was later transferred to Yan Dutse Nursery and Primary School. He also attended Spring Secondary School for the JSS.